A Swiftly Tilting Planet (The Time Quartet) - Softcover

L'Engle, Madeleine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440901588 ISBN 13: 9780440901587

Publisher: Laurel Leaf, 1979

Synopsis

In this companion volume to A Wrinkle In  Time (Newbery Award winner) and  A Wind In The Door fifteen-year-old  Charles Wallace and the unicorn Gaudior undertake a  perilous journey through time in a desperate  attempt to stop the destruction of the world by the  mad dictator Madog Branzillo. They are not alone in  their quest. Charles Wallace's sister, Meg--grown  and expecting her first child, but still able to  enter her brother's thoughts and emotions by  "kything"--goes with him in  spirit.
But in overcoming the challenges, Charles  Wallace must face the ultimate test of his faith and  will, as he is sent within four people from  another time, there to search for a way to avert the  tragedy threatening them all.
"L'Engle's  gifts are at their most impressive here." --  Publisher's Weekly

About this title

Review:

Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry, whom readers first met in A Wrinkle in Time, has a little task he must accomplish. In 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy the universe by declaring nuclear war--unless Charles Wallace can go back in time to change one of the many Might-Have-Beens in history. In an intricately layered and suspenseful journey through time, this extraordinary young man psychically enters four different people from other eras. As he perceives through their eyes "what might have been," he begins to comprehend the cosmic significance and consequences of every living creature's actions. As he witnesses first-hand the transformation of civilization from peaceful to warring times, his very existence is threatened, but the alternative is far worse.

The Murry family, also appearing in A Wind in the Door and Many Waters, acts as a carrier of Madeleine L'Engle's unique message about human responsibility for the world. Themes of good versus evil, time and space travel, and the invincibility of the human spirit predominate. Even while she entertains, L'Engle kindles the intellect, inspiring young people to ask questions of the world, and learn by challenging. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author:

Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) was the Newbery Medal-winning author of more than 60 books, including the much-loved A Wrinkle in Time. Born in 1918, L'Engle grew up in New York City, Switzerland, South Carolina and Massachusetts. Her father was a reporter and her mother had studied to be a pianist, and their house was always full of musicians and theater people. L'Engle graduated cum laude from Smith College, then returned to New York to work in the theater. While touring with a play, she wrote her first book, The Small Rain, originally published in 1945. She met her future husband, Hugh Franklin, when they both appeared in The Cherry Orchard.

Upon becoming Mrs. Franklin, L'Engle gave up the stage in favor of the typewriter. In the years her three children were growing up, she wrote four more novels. Hugh Franklin temporarily retired from the theater, and the family moved to western Connecticut and for ten years ran a general store. Her book Meet the Austins, an American Library Association Notable Children's Book of 1960, was based on this experience.

Her science fantasy classic A Wrinkle in Time was awarded the 1963 Newbery Medal. Two companion novels, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet (a Newbery Honor book), complete what has come to be known as The Time Trilogy, a series that continues to grow in popularity with a new generation of readers. Her 1980 book A Ring of Endless Light won the Newbery Honor. L'Engle passed away in 2007 in Litchfield, Connecticut.

About this edition

• Publisher: Laurel Leaf
• Publication date: 1979
• ISBN 10: 0440901588
• ISBN 13: 9780440901587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272